Acknowledgement for investment bank

Wednesday, 28 July 2010 16:12

Standard Bank IBTC has been named as Best Investment Bank in Nigeria in the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2010. Standard Bank Group was also named as Best Investment Bank in Africa and Best Bank in South Africa by Euromoney.

For the awards, the Euromoney panel of judges took into account key performance indicators including volume of business transacted, innovation and leadership, credit ratings, quality of assets and earnings, and efficiency ratios."We are especially pleased to receive recognition for our work in Nigeria," says Chris Newson, managing director of Standard Bank IBTC. "The banking sector in Nigeria has been under considerable pressure in recent times, but Standard Bank IBTC has passed the test and risen to the challenge by delivering strong performance across all parts of the business," he says.

Mr Newson believes that Standard Bank IBTC is strongly positioned to expand its position in Nigeria. "We have developed a strong foundation with excellent skills in all aspects of corporate and investment banking, and we aim to extend our leading position in key areas," he says.

Standard Bank Group chief executive Jacko Maree says the three awards mark a further milestone in achieving Standard Bank's vision to connect Africa to the world and the world to Africa.

"It is particularly pleasing to be recognised in Africa's highly competitive investment banking arena where we compete with large institutions from around the world. Being named as Best Investment Bank in Africa is further confirmation of our capacity to provide top quality services across the equity, debt and mergers and acquisitions sectors," says Mr Maree.

"Being recognised for our work in Nigeria and South Africa as well as for our continent-wide performance affirms our decision some years ago to establish and nurture on-the-ground presence and expertise in African markets. "We will continue to expand our footprint and enhance our offerings as the continent's growth consolidates and its trade relations with emerging markets strengthen," says Mr Maree.

Mr Maree says several high-profile and successful transactions in the past year are good indicators of Standard Bank's traction across Africa. These include being the joint lead arranger for $1.6bn funding of Botswana's Morupule B power station expansion, funding for the $330mn Kayalekera Uranium project in Malawi, and the debt financing of a total of $310mn for the Lakatabu cement factory in Nigeria.